New campaign in Kensington and Chelsea aims to use catchy messaging to encourage people to recycle the right objects
A new campaign launching this week aims to boost recycling rates in a London borough by combining the recycling expertise of environmental charity Hubbub with the communication skills of smoothie brand Innocent Drinks.
The campaign will urge residents of Kensington and Chelsea to help catch "recycling's most wanted": high-value items such as drink cans, yogurt pots, and bathroom plastics which should be recycled but are often overlooked by consumers. Run in partnership with Kensington and Chelsea Council, the new communications will feature on posters, recycling bags and leaflets, digital displays and recycling trucks across the borough, as well as in a takeover of the Council's social media channels.
As one of the most densely populated boroughs in the UK and with a highly transient population, Kensington and Chelsea offers a particular recycling challenge. Over the last three years, the borough has achieved an overall increase in its recycling rate of just under three percentage points, lifting it to 28.6 per cent - well below the national average.
The impact of the new campaign on the overall recycling rate will be assessed, Hubbub said, with results shared to help inform recycling communication campaigns run by councils across the UK. The charity estimates that for every one percentage point increase in the household recycling rate, the council could save £63,000 a year in disposal costs.
The new campaign builds on polling undertaken in London by Hubbub, which found that one in three Londoners find recycling information difficult to understand. Less than half, 45 per cent, say they are confident about what can be recycled and more than half, 51 per cent, agree that clearer information would encourage them to recycle more.